Last night my girls and I had the great fortune of previewing the new Disney movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Don’t worry. There are no spoilers in this post so if you are planning to see the movie read on. (If you weren’t planning on it, I highly recommend you do.)
What a beautiful movie. I cried like a baby. I knew that I would almost right away. The story resonated with me because it captured how I believe many parents feel when they have their first child. The biggest challenges are not necessarily encountered at the diaper stage. So it was interesting that in this film the son was not an infant but a child entering one of the most notoriously difficult of phases of life – the tween years. I have felt what the parents in this movie feel as they prepared to let their child loose on the world to face who knows what. I have felt what they felt when what I thought “the right thing to do” according to my best judgement was the wrong thing to do. I know how painful it is to feel like you are not a good mom or dad. We parents try so hard and think so hard and prepare so hard, but are sometimes thrown curve balls which at times connect with these little individuals we are trying so hard to protect. And the oddest thing is that sometimes they handle it better than we do.
The movie was appropriate for children, in my opinion, though they will miss some of the more subtle lessons in the film. It did have many light moments which they will love. It also had a couple of sad ones that are handled so delicately that they pass quickly and move on… just as life does. My three girls (all in grammar school) enjoyed it very much. They thought CJ Adams was “sooo cute” (read in a high, squeaky voice) and I think he did a wonderful job in his role as Timothy. I suspect we have not seen the last of this actor. Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton were very credible as parents, both wearing the pain and worry of what they had to endure with tremendous empathy.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green comes out in theaters on August 15. Moms (and Dads) I think you will love it.
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I was not paid or asked to write about the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green. I am writing this post because I LOVED the movie, and because I am grateful for having been provided with a chance to see it in preview by the fine folks at Disney.
